Heavy hydrocarbons such as bitumen, kerogen, GILSONITE® (trademarked term of the mineral uintahite) and tars are high molecular weight hydrocarbons frequently encountered in the petroleum industry. These heavy hydrocarbons range from thick viscous liquids to solids at ambient temperatures and are generally difficult to recover in useful form. For example, heavy hydrocarbon crude oils and natural bitumens are difficult to handle because their low gravities and high viscosities retard their ability to flow within a reservoir or refinery stream. Furthermore, heavy hydrocarbons can build up over time in various processing streams at a refinery, fouling system output or requiring costly process downtime.
Although heavy hydrocarbons are problematic in refinery processing of petrochemicals, there are a number of applications in which heavy hydrocarbons are useful. Heavy hydrocarbons have been used, for example, as asphalt and tar compositions, including those used for paving roads and roofing or waterproofing applications. Heavy hydrocarbons are also a feedstock for conversion into lighter hydrocarbons, such as olefins and gasoline. Conversion of heavy hydrocarbons into lighter hydrocarbons is typically accomplished by thermal cracking and hydrogenolysis processes, for example.
In view of the foregoing, apparatuses and methods to easily separate heavy hydrocarbons from a solvent stream at a refinery would be of considerable benefit. Such apparatuses and methods would allow more efficient operation of refinery process streams and also provide the heavy hydrocarbons in useful form for further processing.